Traveloguy

Yes - you can contract the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Each Australian state has an office. You may want to read the Trade Practices Act which may have something in it that can help you.

A good place to start would be to look on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's website (www.accc.gov.au).

Having said all the above, good luck!! I think you will need it as I can't see anything changing.

thadocta

All I can see changing is an increase in the points cost of awards, with a discount given for using automated systems. Same as now, basically.

Dave

Sydney

Yep. Don't think any good will come of contracting or even contacting ACCC. Qantas has nothing to lose. It's not like Aussies can join another airline's program.

lokijuh

Really, who cares about a 2,500 pt assisted booking fee? It pales into insignificance compared to the $xxx.xx surcharges that apply to all but the very simplest of domestic (or AA) itineraries.

virtualtroy

I do, which is why I posted, as each time I book award tickets it's for two of us and that means 5K points.

Sydney / Dave: I don't object to the booking fee per se but more QF's approach when it comes to forcing people to forfeit these points when there is no way of being able to book a wide range of destinations online. If that alternative existed and the member still chose to phone reservations, then fair enough.

I suspect you're both right that the ACCC won't find against QF in this instance, but at least there might be a stronger message sent that this move bothers some of its FF members.

virtualtroy

I followed up my note of Dec 2004 to Jenny Chamberlain with another, again highlighting the inequity of surcharging award bookings if there was no way of booking them online. This time my comments seem to have hit the mark and QF has agreed not only to waive the 2.5K per pax assisted booking fee, but also to look at adding the destination I want to book to the online award booking engine. ^ ^ ^ ^

This time QF is listening to its WPs and is to be congratulated.

Traveloguy

Whilst QF's award booking engine has its faults, I have to say it is pretty close to the mark as is its normal booking engine!

ozmerish

I spoke with QF today to book 2 reward seats on a partner airline. As I was unable to do this online, the 2.5k per pax fee has been applied. When I mentioned that I had no choice, the operator mentioned that the reason (as noted earlier in the thread) is that other carriers systems are incompatible with QF's but that they are pushing the issue to have more destinations online. He also mentioned that the staff are sometimes subjected to angry customers that let them have it when they can't make the booking online.

For me the matter isn't the 5k points (after all, thats now comped via the loyalty bonus ) it's the fact that QF drives you to go online and then you cannot do what you need to do once you are there.This part of the redemption procedure seems like it was rolled out a bit premature. I agree with earlier posts that some fee should/could be charged for complex journeys, but for a simple xxx-yyy, it shouldn't be an issue.

Any chance I could get Jenny's email - never hurts to let them know that another FF is not too impressed with the brave, new, post 25 May world.

Hope this mini rant makes some sense - way too much flu meds...

spotwelder

The booking fee of 2500 is a right pain in the posterior as I tend to redeem 8000 for a single flight and then get charged 2500 because the agent can book the flights and I cannot? Is that incompatible systems between QF and other airlines? If the systems were incompatible, then the QF agent would not be able to do it infront of them at the time of calling. I am being charged more than 30% increase in the mileage because of a lack of functionality on the web. Not impressed. Saying that, it is a route that QF codeshare on and, no, you cannot book the QF codeshare on the web.....

Whilst we may be talking a relatively small percentage of bookings, it is part of being in the 1W alliance that you can earn and redeem on all the carriers.

virtualtroy

You have private mail.

hauteboy

I've been working on a multi-airline award checking tool; and playing around with the QF award site, I've been able to book awards starting in cities the award tool currently doesn't allow; such as ABZ to SYD. However the QF site apparently won't let you choose arbitrary cities (such as DFW) that aren't already in the list.

virtualtroy

Six months on from receiving assurances from QF that one of the cities I fly from / to regularly would be added to the online award booking engine and guess what... it still hasn't.

Again I posed the question, if there isn't any means to book online (ie it has to be by phone) how can it to be equitable to charge the assisted award booking fee.

And this is where there was a really pleasant surprise...

By bringing it to the attention of Jenny Chamberlain, QF have agreed to both add the destination to the online booking engine (which, I'm told, will take about a month) and to waive the assisted award booking fee for any award reservations to / from this city in the meantime.

What a result and top marks to QF ^ ^ ^ for acting on FF customer feedback.

Guy Betsy

Is this city VANCOUVER by any chance?

Because the QF website insists that it doesn't fly there!

virtualtroy

Nope.

roho

So will we be privy as to where your point of origin is or do you prefer to keep it secret?